World Briefing Plus: The World Is Looking for a Cop
Trump’s expanding global role is not what MAGA signed up for
What a week! From a U.S. naval buildup edging toward Iranian waters, to elections unfolding in Myanmar and Thailand, to Western leaders quietly engaging Beijing as China is increasingly framed - rightly or wrongly - as a “responsible” global actor. I’m now on the ground in Asia with a small team, reporting not just what’s happening, but what’s being whispered in corridors, raised in side panels, suggested from election billboards and odd campaign laws, and missed entirely in the daily news cycle.
In this World Briefing Plus video (below, beyond the paywall), I unpack the widening gap between Donald Trump’s MAGA promise of inward focus and the reality of an America once again acting as the world’s policeman; the deepening humanitarian emergency in Ukraine; and China’s decisive - and lethal - move against crime networks tied to Asia’s scam centers, which have global reach and devastating human costs. Drawing on insights from panels in Hong Kong and countless conversations with contacts and random interactions, this edition connects dots across Washington, Beijing, Ottawa, London, Kyiv, Bangkok - and beyond - while also searching for the rare but vital glimmers of hope in an anxious, disoriented world.
World Briefing Plus exists because of you.
If you’re already a paid subscriber, thank you - and please consider encouraging a colleague or friend to join. And if you’re reading this on the fence, upgrading helps fund on-the-ground reporting and commentary at a time when foreign desks are shrinking and blind spots are growing. Your support quite literally gets us to the places that still need witnesses.
